Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting admitted that he is expecting a slam for adding a lot of overseas players to the franchise as well. The 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) finalists, came into the auction with the biggest purse and bought five Australian players. PBKS retained only Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh after the 2024 campaign. They brought back Arshdeep Singh through RTM and broke the bank for Shreyas Iyer as well.

PBKS roped in three Australian all-rounders in the form of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Aaron Hardie. The franchise also bought a pace bowler Xavier Bartlett, and wicket-keeper batter, Josh Inglis. Nathan Ellis was also close to re-joining the side, but ultimately went to the
CSK as well.

ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya shares happiness after winning back the love of fans

“We have (a few Australians) and I’ll probably get some criticism. I think we have got five Aussies out of our complement of eight overseas. But when you look at the slots that we needed, the players that we have got fitted into those roles perfectly,” Ponting said, via News 18.“To have Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell back to Kings is huge as they have both played here in the past. A couple of new guys, including Xavier Bartlett, Aaron Hardie, and Josh Inglis, are coming into the IPL for the first time, which is also really exciting for us,” he added.

Ricky Ponting also reunites with several players with whom he has worked in the past, including Shreyas Iyer. He comes in as the favourite to lead the team, having led DC to the finals of the 2020 edition with Ponting as head coach. He also led KKR to the title in the 2024 season as well.

“I am (ready for the season) now. Now, that all the hard work is done really. For the auctions, there’s a lot of hard work that’s gone into the two days of the auction. We’ve got the players. Now, it’s over to me and the other coaching staff to make sure that when we get there in March sometime, that we are ready to go on and win the IPL,” Ricky Ponting concluded.